Friday, July 11, 2008

I picked a good game to make a comeback. Harkening back to the days of Willie Wilson, Mark Teahen hit his second inside the park home run this year to add some insurance shortly after Jose Guillen's RBI double in the eighth inning that give the Royals a 2-1 lead. Teahen is the first Royal with two inside the park home runs since Brian McRae did it in 1992.

Zack Greinke continued to show that he's the ace of the staff--going seven innings and giving up just one earned run. After the game, Ozzie Guillen said this about Greinke, "To me, he's one of the best pitchers in the American League." Greinke currently ranks 11th in the AL in ERA (3.48) and 7th in strikeouts (104).

Things looked desperate for the Royals early on. Mark Buehrle was mowing our guys down, but once he left the game, the Royals mounted their dramatic comeback against Octavio Dotel and Boone Logan. And they got a little help from Paul Konerko who couldn't hold on to a throw from Alexei Ramirez in the eighth inning, which allowed David DeJesus to reach first base. That set the stage for Mike Aviles to drive him in with a double.

You know the rest of the story.

Ron Mahay and Joakim Soria continued their amazing seasons in relief. The both pitched a scoreless inning. Mahay picked up his fifth win of the season and lowered his ERA to 1.87. Soria picked up his 24th save and lowered his ERA to 1.54.

The Royals have won just three of their last ten games, but they begin a new series against Seattle now, so hopefully they can win a series before the All-Star break on Monday. Luke Hochevar (5-7, 5.40) will go up against Felix Hernandez (6-5, 2.83). Hochevar has never faced the Mariners. Hernandez is 2-0 in his career against the Royals with a 2.11 ERA.

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Join Lee as he hosts Royals fans on the Royal Reflections podcast to discuss how they became Royal fans, some of their favorite Royal memories, and their thoughts about the current roster. Lee may also periodically interview print or broadcast journalists about the Royals.

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